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Industry minister wants foreign investment board scrapped

Industry Minister Murasoli Maran on Monday stated that the Foreign Investment Promotion Board must be scrapped to reduce the Centre's interference in Economic matters, particularly those related to the foreign investments.

"Foreign funds can find their own direction. It is my personal opinion that the FIPB must go. There should be no central interference in matters related to inflow of investment." Maran said while addressing the plenary session of the 1997 India Economic Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the World Economic Forum. here.

"The government," he insisted, "is making all efforts to ensure freer flow of captain into the country. As a first step, we are trying to cut down the bureaucratic red tape."

According to Maran, the agenda for reforms was incomplete and the emphasis would now shift to the states. "States will now become the engines of economic reforms," he said.

"Industrial development has always been the domain of the states but with an amendment in the Constitution, the federal government had sucked away all powers form the states," he said. "Now with reforms, these powers have been given back to them."

With all these steps in place, foreign direct investments inflows into India will double over the last year's figure to $5 billion this year. "Reforms are irreversible as well as unstoppable and entrepreneurs should take full advantage of the process," he declared.

The country has witnessed progressive reduction in custom duties from 300 per cent three years back to an average 40 per cent. He said adding that it would reach East Asian levels in the next five years.

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